April 2014

The Banner

Benedictine Military School’s JROTC brigade and cadre, as well as a number of BC faculty, staff and alumni, marched in the 190th Savannah St. Patrick’s Day Parade on March 17. Rainy conditions did not stop us from showcasing BC to the thousands of people who attended what annually is one of the largest St. Patrick’s Day celebrations in the nation, and the thousands who watched the event on television. One of our own, Mr. Dave Roberts ’76, was elected Grand Marshal of Savannah’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade. “It’s the greatest honor you can have, to be an Irishman and live in Savannah, Georgia,” Roberts said. The celebration also marked a new era for BC, as Col. Richard E. LaRossa marched in the parade for the first time as BC’s Senior Army Instructor. Col. LaRossa, whose sons, Francis and Edward, graduated from BC, filled the void left by LTC John Manson Owens III ’61, who retired last June after 27 years at BC.

Cadets march in St. Patrick’s Day Parade

Board of Directors

Officers

Chairman:

Mr. William E. Schmitt

Board of Directors:

Mr. Andrew C. Ambos ’87

Rev. Daniel F. Firmin, J.C.L.

Dr. Joseph K. Hogan ’82

Mr. Martin S. Hogan ’86

Rev. Philip Kanfush, O.S.B.

Sister Johanna Maguire, R.S.M.

Mr. Charles H. Moore, Jr. ’79

Mr. Walter B. Murphy III ’71

Mr. Christopher W. Phillips ’79

Mr. Mark T. Shawe ’73

Mr. William W. Shearouse, Jr. ’66

Sister Lourdes Sheehan, R.S.M.

Mrs. Kathy H. Siler

Mr. Donald M. Thompson ’65

Letter from the Principal ...

Dear BC parents, alumni and friends,

April is here and this is always a very busy time here at BC. Spring sports are in full swing. Come watch a base-ball or soccer game, lacrosse or tennis match, follow our golf team or come to a track and field meet. There is al-ways something going on. We hope you had the chance to come to our 3rd Annual Science Night featuring STEM, too. Our drama production with the Saints from SVA is right around the corner as well.

Our seniors are looking at their final days as Cadets. Their four years have flown by for sure. Now, as they are ac-cepted at the colleges and universities of their choice, a new phase in their lives and that of their parents is upon them. Four months from now they will be moving into dorms and their adventures begin. We know they are aca-demically prepared, and pray they are healthy and happy.

Just this past week, an AdvancED Review Team spent two and a half days with us looking at all we do. I am most pleased and proud to inform you that we have been rec-ommended for the maximum five-year accreditation. The team’s initial report pointed out three powerful practices, which are those they consider replicateable at any school; engaging families, stakeholder communication and com-munity service. We are very proud of what they recog-nized we do in these areas. We were given four required actions, all of which deal with data-driven instruction and professional development, each of which we have begun to work on this year, and for which we have plans for

Board of Directors

Officers

Chairman:

Mr. William E. Schmitt

Board of Directors:

Mr. Andrew C. Ambos ’87

Rev. Daniel F. Firmin, J.C.L.

Dr. Joseph K. Hogan ’82

Mr. Martin S. Hogan ’86

Rev. Philip Kanfush, O.S.B.

Sister Johanna Maguire, R.S.M.

Mr. Charles H. Moore, Jr. ’79

Mr. Walter B. Murphy III ’71

Mr. Christopher W. Phillips ’79

Mr. Mark T. Shawe ’73

Mr. William W. Shearouse, Jr. ’66

Sister Lourdes Sheehan, R.S.M.

Mrs. Kathy H. Siler

Mr. Donald M. Thompson ’65

Letter from the Principal ...

next year and beyond. Within 30 days, we will receive our AdvancED formal report with “opportunities for im-provement” and a more detailed analysis of their visit. Our four team members were knowledgeable, passionate about education and a delight to work with. We have a great deal to be proud of!

All of us here wish you and your families a wonderful spring and a blessed Easter.

Always,

Dr. Deborah A. Antosca, Ed.D.

Principal

Cadets march in St. Patrick’s Day Parade

Photo of Col. LaRossa courtesy of Mrs. Robin DeLoach

Cadets march in St. Patrick’s Day Parade

Cadets march in St. Patrick’s Day Parade

JROTC Cadet of the Month Winners for March are:

Cadet Donovan Green A Company, 2nd Platoon, 1st Squadron, 1st Battalion

Private First Class Ben Winders C Company, 2nd Platoon, 2nd Squadron, 2nd Battalion

Private First Class Adam KingE Company, 1st Platoon, 2nd Squadron, 3rd Battalion

Members of Benedictine Military School’s class of 1976 attended the Hibernian Dinner on St. Patrick’s Day. Front row, left to right: Lee Cummings, Mark Buttimer, Dr. John Spellman and Mike Hussey; back row: Bill Barbee, Larry Whelan, Walter Dimmick, Kevin Iocovozzi, Dave Roberts (Grand Marshal), Kim Iocovozzi, Michael Laird, Vincent Ferraro, Charlie Butler, Robert Cowart and Mike McNamara. Photo courtesy of Mr. Dave Roberts

BC class of ’76 attends Hibernian Dinner

Ring Day at BC

Ring Day at BC

Benedictine Military School juniors on March 14 received their BC class rings during a ceremony in the cafeteria. BC’s senior class officers coordinated the event, Fr. Ronald Gatman, O.S.B., blessed the rings and Mr. Richard C. Lutz, Jr. ’84 was the guest speaker. BC alumni who have a son in the junior class were invited to sit on the stage and present their sons with their class ring. After the ceremony, the junior class was excused from classes that day.

April Calendar of Events

April 1 - Baseball vs. MCA, 4:30 p.m. at BCApril 2 - DUI simulator at BC, 7:50 a.m.-3:10 p.m.April 3 - DUI simulator at BC, 7:50 a.m.-3:10 p.m.; Golf at Vidalia; Soccer at Toombs, 7 p.m.; Baseball at Long, 7:30 p.m.April 4 - Track & Field at Beaufort; Golf at Vidalia; Baseball at Richmond Hill, 1 p.m.; Lacrosse at Dunwoody, 6 p.m.April 7 - Golf at UnderArmour Invit., Sav. Golf Club, 3:15 p.m.April 8 - Lenten Penance Service; Baseball at Jeff Davis, 6 p.m.; Soccer vs. Vidalia, 7 p.m. at Daffin Park’s Optimist FieldApril 9 - Guest speaker Mr. Chris Stefanick visits; History lec-ture, 6:30 p.m. in Alumni Hall.April 11 - School Mass; Mid-Quarter; Baseball vs. Vidalia, 4:30 p.m.; Soccer at Atkinson County, 7 p.m.April 12 - Track & Field at SSU; BCAA Sporting Clays Shoot at Forest City Gun Club, 9 a.m.; Lacrosse vs. SW DeKalb, 1 p.m.; Lacrosse vs. MLK HS, 7 p.m.; BC/SVA West Side Story at Trustees Theater, 7:30 p.m.April 13 - Palm Sunday; BC/SVA West Side Story at Trustees Theater, 5 p.m.April 14 - Track & Field at Region 2-AA meet; Golf at Glynn Aca., 3 p.m.; Soccer at Toombs, 7 p.m.April 15 - Track & Field at Region 2-AA meet; Baseball vs. Bacon, 4:30 p.m.; Lacrosse vs. Camden Military School, 5 p.m.; Soccer vs. Savannah Christian, 7 p.m. at Daffin Park’s Optimist FIeldApril 16 - Track & FIeld at Region 2-AA meet; Field Day, 8 a.m. (Half-day schedule)April 17 - Holy Thursday; BC closed for Easter break until April 28; Baseball at Toombs, 5:45 p.m.April 18 - Good FridayApril 19 - Lacrosse vs. North Atlanta (at Mercer University), 12 p.m.April 20 - Easter SundayApril 21 - Golf at Region 2-AA championship in Vidalia, 10 a.m.; Soccer vs. Savannah Arts Aca., 7 p.m.April 22 - Baseball at Metter, 6 p.m.April 23 - Lacrosse vs. Heathwood Hall, 5 p.m.April 24 - Baseball at Jenkins, 4:30 p.m.; April 25 - Baseball vs. Bryan, 4:30 p.m.April 26 - Track & Field at Sectional meet (site to be determined)April 27 - Mother/Son Dance in BC Cafeteria, 3 p.m.; April 28 - BC re-opens and classes resumeApril 30 - 50th anniversary rededication ceremony, Mass and reception at BC

April Faculty and Staff Birthdays

Jacob Horne 4/5James “Jake” Chase 4/13Stewart Pinkerton 4/26

Visit www.thebc400.com and our Facebook page for the most up-to-date information regarding

dates and events!

3rd Quarter Honor Roll (2013-14)

HIGH HONORSBrennen K. AndersonMatthew B. BartholomewThomas R. BensonNoah B. BestHenry W. BowdenJohn E. Bremer, Jr.Jasper E. Bridgeman, Jr.Jack M. CarberyTurner Y.C. ChuMichael H. CohenAlexander T. ColemanBenjamin T. ColemanJohn M Coleman, Jr.Everette A. CoomerMatthew T. CoppageConnor S. DeWittJordan R. DorseyRyan M. DuceyJustice D. FelipeCharles H. Ferrelle VSam O. GehaRichard M. Geriner IIITristan G. HarkleroadRiley C. HarrissMatthew C. HoganThomas J. Hogan IIIJoseph R. HolguinAustin M. KareshThomas K. KennedyChristopher J. KochanikGrant R. LanserMichael H. LesterKaelan P. LutzPatrick R. MaguireBrendan M. MahoneyChase MariniCooper MariniWinston E. Maxey IV

HIGH HONORSGarrett J. McBroomMiles W. McGintyWilliam T. MinnisRoss M. MonsonClayton A. MooreCraig S. Moore, Jr.Philip R. MooreAnthony H. NguyenMatthew L. NyceIshant P. PatelAlfred E. Pesto IIIWilliam E. PestoMatthew G. PetersConnor L. RobertsonCollins M. SherrillJohn J. SolitarioKyle H. SouthMatthew C. StarlingEugene B. Stewart IIJoshua S. SummerlinZachary J. TateAndrew L. TisonBenjamin T. TootleJames J. WareZachary A. WatsonRobert D. WhiteMark J. WilsonBenjamin J. WindersJohn W. Witt IIIBenjamin M. WrightHunter W. Yaklin

HONOR ROLLAaron L. BeersNicholas F. BlohmWilliam E. Bradley IVBridges C.A. BrantleyTriet R. Bui

HONOR ROLLSamuel L. CollinsThomas L. CrossleyLiam CunninghamJohn B. DeLoachWyatt J. FerrelleMichael K. Fleming, Jr.Conrad C. Fonseca IIICaleb M. GilmoreJustin A. GreeneChristopher L. GregarNathan J. HickeyRichard R. HightowerHarrison M. HughesNoah S. JohnsonJake T. KindredWilliam E. KroppRichard M. LisiciaAustin M. McBroomRonald W. McElhaney IIITimothy T. Morin IIJohn T. MullerClifford C. Reddick IIILawson R. RemlerMatthew T. SparksGraham M. ThompsonSteven J. TiltonLogan H. vonWaldnerDaquan L. WaldronAndrew K. Werntz, Jr.Brendan D. WestLogan S. Wilkinson

3rd Annual Science Night featuring STEM at BC

By Noell Barnidge, Communications & Special Events Coordinator

Children and parents from throughout Savannah gathered at Benedictine Military School on March 26 for the 3rd Annual Science Night featuring STEM. During the two-hour event, BC Cadets guided our guests on a tour through the solar system. Children especially enjoyed tak-ing turns driving replica Mars Rovers that were built by Mrs. Nicole Willett’s honors astronomy class. In the chemistry lab, Mr. Rigel Crockett conducted a variety of awe-inspiring experiments and demonstrations. The telescopes on the plaza were a great attraction, there were numerous hands-on activities such as Alka-Seltzer rockets and a dinosaur dig, and guest speakers included Fr. Frank Ziemkiewicz, O.S.B., Mr. David Seitz ’62, Ms. Kelli Whitney, Fr. Michael Kavanaugh ’76, Dr. George Sedberry and Dr. Stuart Fife.

3rd Annual Science Night featuring STEM at BC

3rd Annual Science Night featuring STEM at BC

3rd Annual Science Night featuring STEM at BC

From BC to the Big Dance!

By Noell Barnidge, Communications & Special Events Coordinator

Mercer University basketball players Daniel Coursey and Jibri Bryan, who both gradu-ated from Benedictine Military School in 2010, returned to BC on March 12 for a March Mad-ness send-off by BC students, administrators, faculty and staff. Mercer competed in the NCAA Tournament and beat Duke University, 78-71, on March 21. On March 23, the Bears lost, 83-63, to Tennessee. Mercer earned an automatic bid to the “Big Dance” by winning the Atlantic Sun Conference tournament championship. The 6-foot-10 Coursey, the Atlantic Sun Conference’s Defensive Player of the Year, and the 6-foot-3 Bryan talked about the strong foundation they re-ceived as BC students. They also answered questions, gave advice to our Cadets and led every-one during the Benedictine Fight Song.

The Bible comes alive in Mrs. Cheryl Ganem’s religion classes

Mrs. Cheryl Ganem’s freshman religion classes are studying stories from the Bible. They took time out in early March and created some very lively and dramatic presentations to display their knowledge of the stories and the lessons from the Bible selections. Some of the stories included: The Prodigal Son, Noah and the Ark, the story of Abraham and Isaac, Samson and Delilah, the anointing of King Saul by Samuel, and many others. Props, costumes, and lots of good acting made for a most enjoyable day in the world of religious studies classes.

Biology students dissect grasshoppers

Benedictine Military School biology teacher Mr. Brennan Lemieux ’01 had his students dissect grasshoppers in class one morning. Grasshoppers are a great introductory dissection organism as they display a number of traits that have been highlighted in class, including a few similarities to humans! The boys follow a dissection sheet where they begin by answering a few pre-lab questions about classification and identifying most closely related pairs, etc. Then they dive headfirst into an anatomical checklist, making sure that they identify each segment or structure before moving on to the next. Highlights include figuring out the biomechanics of the simplified mouthparts, understanding the similarities between the grasshoppers’ tympanum and our tympanic membrane, and the function of the abdominal spiracles. The real fun came in comparing the male and female. The boys finish by creating a color key to identify those very same structural components they noted earlier in the lab.

BC helps other via blood donations

Benedictine Military School Cadets, administrators, faculty and staff did their part March 28 to help others throughout our community by donating blood to the American Red Cross. BC’s National Honor Society sponsored the blood drive and we had a tremendous turnout! The “blood mobile” was in operation at BC from 9 a.m. until 2 p.m.

Cadets celebrate Ash Wednesday Mass with seminarians

The Cadets of Benedictine Military School celebrated Mass on Ash Wednesday (March 5) with a group of seminarians from St. Vincent Archabbey. They came to Savannah from Latrobe, Pa., and visited during their spring break. The celebrant/homilist for the Mass was Fr. Ronald Gatman, O.S.B. St. Vincent Archabbey, established in 1846, is a community of Benedic-tine monks, sharing a life of work and prayer centered on Christ Jesus, according to the tradition of the Roman Catholic Church and the monastic Rule of Saint Benedict. With more than 160 monks, St. Vincent was founded by Boniface Wimmer and is one of the largest monasteries in the world.

AP Environmental Science students test water quality

Mrs. Nicole Willett’s AP Environmental Science class tested water quality from a variety of sources. Some of the samples included pool water, tap water, runoff water, water from C-wing of Benedictine Military School and others. The students tested for dissolved oxygen con-tent, phosphates, nitrates, turbidity and pH.

Zettler ’10, Cannoles ’13 return to BC to give presentation

Benedictine Military School graduates Mr. Jason Zettler ’10 and Mr. Ben Cannoles ’13 returned to BC to speak with some of our Cadets about attending the University of North Geor-gia in Dahlonega, Ga.

Junior retreat

By Noell Barnidge, Communications & Special Events Coordinator Benedictine Military School’s junior class conducted its retreat March 13 at BC. The day began with a Mass, followed by a talk from Fr. Ronald Gatman, O.S.B., about escapism and dealing with reality. Ms. Kelly Williams gave a presentation about saints, there was time for re-flection and Sr. Joan Chittister, O.S.B., gave a short reading before Fr. Ronald’s presentation on the virtue of tolerance. The Cadets ate lunch and are in the process of playing basketball, touch football and cornhole on the plaza. The purpose of a retreat day is to educate our young men while allowing them to participate in activities that strengthen their brotherhood.

Cadets celebrate Mass honoring our Holy Father Benedict

Benedictine Military School students on March 21 attended a Mass celebrating the passing of our Holy Father Benedict. The celebrant/homilist was Fr. Anthony Wesolowski, O.S.B.

By Noell Barnidge, Communications & Special Events Coordinator Benedictine Military School’s annual Trebuchet Day will be in a few weeks, so BC physics teacher Mr. Jim Hicks spent time recently teaching students in his classes how to safely use the tools when production begins. A trebuchet is a type of catapult that remained popular from around fourth century B.C. until the 13th century A.D. Trebuchets were known to be more accurate than other catapults, as warriors could use them to fling projectiles of up to 350 pounds at high rates of speed into enemy fortifications.

Tool safety demonstration in preparation for Trebuchet Day

Campus MinistryBy: Fr. Ronald Gatman, O.S.B. - Campus Minister

COMPASSION

Years ago, when I was studying in Geneva, Switzerland, I met a young woman who was not a Christian. One Sunday, she invited me to go to a Quaker religious service. I went. It was interesting. When the Spirit moved someone they would get up and speak for a while

and then sit back down. Silence followed until someone else felt inspired to speak. After this had gone on for a long time one of the people at the service, an old woman, was getting restless and wanted the meeting to be over. So she began to shuffle her feet on the wooden floor and the noise from it was noticeable. The leaders of the group got the message and the meeting was soon concluded. Later on, the young woman that I was with and I began to have a discussion about religion. Somewhere along the line I asked her, “What is it that stands out most about the person of Jesus Christ?” Without hesitation, she answered, “His compassion.” She had put her finger on the center point around which the life of Jesus Christ revolved. His life and His mission were grounded in compassion. The compassion of Christ resonated with the actions of God that run throughout the whole of the Scriptures. We read numerous times in the Bible of God’s compas-sion, such as in the Psalms where we hear: “The Lord is good to all; He has compassion on all He has made.” (NIV) The word ‘compassion’ literally means, “to suffer with.” This definition raises a question in my mind: how is it possible for God to suffer? Nothing can hurt or harm God. He is almighty. For Christians, the answer is that He suffers in the person of Jesus Christ. Because Jesus was true man and had all of the qualities that a human being can have, except sin, He was able to suffer just like any other person. We know, of course, that He suffered physically at the time of His crucifixion, and certainly mentally. This suffering was undergone for us because of His compassion for us who were steeped in sin. God saw how lost we human beings were due to our transgressions in His regard and in regard to our neighbors. He could have just let us simply wallow in our sins, but He didn’t. He was compassionate to us and sent His Son to save us and reconcile us to Himself. The compassion of God flows from the fact that He is all-loving, and all good. As the Bible tells us, “God so loved the world that He sent His only begotten Son (to die for us), that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life.” If we as Christians are called upon to imitate the life of Christ then we must be as He was, com-passionate to all. Yet we know that we frequently do not behave with compassion toward our fel-low man. In fact, much of the time we display inhumanity to others. One only has to look at the mass persecutions that have taken place in the history of humankind. Why do we do this? Why is there so much hatred in the world? Perhaps it is because we are unable to penetrate into the depths of a person and see the image of God that resides there. We are incumbered by our sins, especially the various negative prejudices that we acquire in regards to others due to our upbringing. This prevents us from seeing that all of us are children of God and as such deserve respect. Jesus

COMPASSION (CONTINUED)

taught that we must overcome these negative views of our neighbors. The epitome of this teach-ing can perhaps best be found in Jesus’ parable of the Good Samaritan as related in the Gospel of Saint Luke. Jesus had just stated that we must love God with our whole being, and our neighbor as ourselves. Someone then asked Jesus, “who is my neighbor?” and this question was answered by Jesus through the parable of the Good Samaritan. Many of you are probably familiar with this parable. It is about a man who had fallen into the hands of robbers who beat him, robbed him and left him alongside the road. A Jewish priest and a Levite passed by and saw the man lying there but did nothing to help him. They just passed by. However, a Samaritan, (Samaritans were dis-liked by the Jews) seeing the man, went over to him and cared for him. There are many facets to this story, but the meaning that Jesus wanted to get across is that everyone is our neighbor regard-less who they are, and we could add, especially those who are in need. But why did the Samaritan go over and help the man while the others didn’t? It seems that he was a man of compassion for others, and his compassion for others overrode whatever feelings he might have against a person. When a person needed help, he helped them. Jesus did this for all of us, regardless of who we are or our beliefs. “He is compassionate to all His creatures.” As we approach the supreme act of God’s compassionate love on Good Friday, may we come to see our solidarity with all the rest of our brothers and sisters throughout the world, and may we be given the grace to reach out to whomever is in need that they might experience the love of God through us, and gain the hope that will help them through this life, and lead them to the next where He who is compassion itself awaits them with open arms. Amen.